Water softening device



April 2 1940- A. J. cHEssoN 2,195,616

' wun soFTENmi nEvIcs Y Drgnal Filed April 19. 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 (htm/MAJ ANDREWJ. CHEssoN April 2, 1940. l A. J. c HEssoN una sqrnm'me DEVICE.'

original Filed April 19. 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [II/11111' l Patented Apr. 2, 1940 PATENT rrlcrzV WATER SOFTENING DEVICE Andrew J. Chesson, M iamLFla.

Application April 19, 1938, Serial No. 202,921

Renewed .August 24, 1939 Claims.

vThis invention relates to a water treating ap paratus in which a fractional portion of a supply of Water is by-passed over a cake of water softening material from whence this portion is re- 5 turned to the main line ofow. The water, which is by-passed over this material, absorbs a lcertain portion of the softening material. ""ien the treated by-passed water returns to main line, it mixes with the water which was i by-passed so that all of the water is properiy treated with this softening material. Heretofore, it has been the practice to pour a concentrated mixture into `a tank, and let it harden so that it may be contacted in the manner 1I J'ust described. After much use, there has been a tendency for the sedimentation, within the water which moves over this material, to form a layer on top of the cake and -prevent the proper contact from being made between the water and the treating solid.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a casing in which a block of water softening chemical is adapted to be removably installed and over4 which a fractional portion of u the water flowing through the main line is passed thereover, with means disposed on the top of said block for scarifying or cleaning the same at the desired time to break and agitate the film or coat of sedimentation which might form on top of the chemical after a continued use.

It is another object of this invention to provide in combination with an apparatus of this type, means for periodically adding predetermined quantities of chlorine solution to the softened solution and a further meansvfor adding predetermined quantities of a coagulating agent such as alum to this same solution. v

It is a further object of the invention to provide a tank having a filter in the upper portion thereof, and a water compartment disposed in the lower portion into which the treated water is adapted to flow. The water coming from the softening device will bel discharged into the space below the lter and its force will be dissipated. This will allow the proper coagulation to take place, after which the'treated water will seep upwardly through the filter and tothe dispensing points.

Any suitable composition of materials may.

(ci. 21o-s6) Subject `matter relating to the filter and dispensing means is b'eing claimed in a separate Aapplication of mine, bearing Serial Number 266,284 and filed on the 6th day of April, 1939.

Some of the objects of the invention having 5 been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which--4 Figure 1 is an elevation of my invention show` ing certain portions thereof in section.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view throughthe water softening mechanism and taken along the line 2 2 in Figure 1; y

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional plan view taken along the line 3 3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken along the' line 4 -4 in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken along the'line 5--5 in Figure 4`;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view through the 20 Y apparatus for admitting predetermined quantities of chlorine, chloride of lime, or other treating solutionto the softened water;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 'I-I in Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 8,-8 in Figure 6.

v Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral Ill denotes a water supply main through which water is adapted to flow from 90 any suitable source such as a reservoir to a dispensing point such as a spigot. Disposed in this pipe is the upper end of a Pitot tube II (see Fig. ures 4 and 5), the open end of which is directed against the ilow of water within the main IIL-95 This tube penetrates a suitable hole I2 in the lower side of themain, and immediately below this point of penetration, the tube II is secured to a semi-circular clamp member I4 by any 'suitable means such as welding I5. Disposed 4o between this member I4 and the lower side of the pipe is a suitable gasketJ'I to prevent any le'akage of water-`from the pipe at this point. The member I4 is held against the lower side of main I0 by means of another semi-'circular clamp 5 member I8 and stud bolts I9. As the water flows through the main I0 from left to right in Figures 1 and 5 it is seen that the Pitot tube will direct a-fractional portion thereof downwardly from the main I0.

The tube II vhas a check valve and a hand valve 2| installed therein. The lowerA end of the tube Il has a suitable union 22, which connects the lower' end of tube II to another tube 23, said tube 23 being securedto a cap 24- of u container 25. The interior of container 25 has another` container 26 removably placed therein. This container is adapted to have a suitable water softening lcake of material 21 moulded therein and disposed on the top of this cake is disk 28, having prongs 29 integral with the lower side thereof. The disk 28 is secured on the lower end of rod 3| which extends upwardly and is rotatably mounted in the central portion of cap member 24.

The upper end of the rod 3| has a suitable hand wheel 32 secured thereto which may be manually turned when it is desired to rotate the teeth 29 and scarify the top side of the cake of material 21. By turning the wheel 32, the sedimentation which has collected upon the cake 21 will be loosened as well as some of the softening .chemical. In order to insure that the water which flows into the upper portion of tank 25Awill contact the top of chemical cake 21, a plurality of holes 28a are provided in the top side of disk 28. After continued usethe water which fiows into the top of the container 25 and over the cake 2'1 will cause the top of the chemical cake 21 to be gradually washed away, and, therefore, the disk 28 and its associated parts will be gradually lowered. The hand-wheel 32 has a' pointer 32a integral therewith, which is adapted to be positioned adjacent a suitable ruler 33, said ruler having graduations 34 thereon which correspond to the depth of the cake 21. The lower end of ruler 33 is adapted to rest o'n top of disk 28 to indicate the amount of water softening material still remaining undissolved.

Pipe 4D leads from the upper side of cap member 24. This pipe is preferably disposed in the cap at an angle of 180 degrees from the pipe 23, so that the water which enters the container 25 will flow across the top surface of the cake of softening material 21. The upper end of pipe 48 is connected to a -pipe 4| by any suitable means such as union 42. The pipe 4| has a Visualizer 43 installed therein which will enable one to ascertain upon a moments notice the direction of flow of water through the pipe 4|.

The upper end of pipe 4| is adapted to communicate with the water main I0. The connection at this point is similar to the connection of Pitot tube and hence another description will not be made but like reference characters will be given to like parts. However, it might be stated that the upper end of the tube 4| feeds in at an angle of 90 degrees to the water mainand is not curved at its upper end as in case of the Pitot tube |I.

The main l'has a T 45 installed therein from which leads a pipe 46, which pipe has a handvalve 41 therein. The pipe 46 is connected to another pipe 48 by any suitable means such as union 49. Leading from the pipe 48 is another Pitot tube 50 which is similar in all respects to the Pitot tube just described, and disposed in the tube 5D is a'needle 5| which is operated to control the flow of liquid. It should be noted that the main l also has a hand valve 5| installed therein which is normally closed; therefore, the entire supply of water vwhich flows through the main |0 will bedirected downwardly through pipe 46. The lower end of the tube 50 is threadably secured into cap member 54 of mixing chamber 55. This cap has a transparent casing 56 disposed on the lower side thereof and on the lower side of this casing 58 is a bottom 51. The members 54, 56 and 51 are held together by any suitable means such as vertically disposed bolts 58.

The bottom 51 has bearings 59 and 60 extending upwardly therefrom, between which shaft 52 is mounted (Figures 6, '1 and 8). This shaft has fixedly secured thereon an arm 63, each end of which supports a cupv 64. Each of these cups has a pin 65 extending laterally therefrom which is adapted to engage the lower end of flexible spring member 61, said spring member 61 being adjust- `ably secured in the cover member 54 by any suitable means such as a set screw 68.

The water which is directed downwardly into the mixing chamber 55 by tube 50, is adapted to iiow into one of the cups 64 which is disposed beneath the outlet port of tube D. The spring member 61 is adapted to be so adjusted relative to the pin 65 that when the cup 64 becomes filled to the desired extent, the lower end of the springs 61 will deflect sufficiently to allow thelled cup 64 to rotate the shaft 65 approximately 180 degrees to empty its contents into the mixing chamber` 55. When this is done, the lowermost cup 64 will occupy the position that the uppermost cup previously occupied relative to the spring 61, after which the 'water will iiow into this cup. v

The shaft 62 has a cam 69 flxedly secured thereon (see Figures 6 and 8) said cam having high points 18 and 1| thereon. The periphery of this cam is adapted to be contacted by roller 12 in the free end of a lever 13. This lever is pivotally secured as at 14 to the lower side` ofvcap member 54. The intermediate portion of lever 13 is loosely penetrated by a vertically disposed pin 15, which pin extends upwardly and is slidably mounted in spider member 16, said spider member being secured in the lower portion of pipe 11. The upper portion of the pin 15 has a valve cap 18 thereon which closes'port 80 when the roller 12 is disposed on the high side of the cam 68. Also disposed around pin 15 are collars 15a and 15b, the collar 15a being so positioned as to confine a coiled compression spring 8| around pin'15 and between this collar and lever 13. It is seen that this spring will allow a certain amount of exibility to be added to the upward movement of the pin 15 and the valve cap 18. Threadably secured on the upper Side of pipe 11 is a reservoir 82 in which a suitable sterilization agent is adapted to be placed, such as chlorine, or chloride of lime, for purifying the'water.

When one of the cups 64 becomes filled,jthe shaft 62 is allowed to rotate approximately 180 degrees, at which time the roller 12 will move past one of the points 1U and 1| to release the valve cap 18 and allow a predetermined quantity of chlorine, or chloride of lime, to iiow downwardly into the mixing chamber 55. When the 180 degree rotation has taken place, the roller 12 again rides upon the high side of the cam 69 to'cause the port 80 to be closed.

The lower side of the mixing chamber 55 has a tube 85 leading therefrom, said tube having a check valve 86 therein, for preventing reverse flow of the fluid. This tube leads into pipe 48 as at 81.

It is sometimes also desirable to add a suitable coagulating agent su'ch as alum to the water in order that the free particles in the water will coagulate and settle. For this purpose a similar device is usedjto that which has just been described for adding a chlorine agent. A Pitot tube SD leads from the pipe 48, said tube having a needle valve 92 therein for controlling the flow. The lower end of the' tube 90 leads to a mixing chamber 95, which is identical in all respects to the mixing chamber 5B inst described. Since all parts are identical, a new description will not be made but like referencecharacters will be given to like parts. Leading from the lower side of mixing chamber 95 is another tube 9G, having a check valve 91 therein for preventing the reverse now of the fluid through the pipe 9B and upwardly through the mixing chamber. Y

After the sterilization and coagulating elements have been'added to the softened wateiythe entire supply is emptied into compartment 98' o! tank 99. By providing this compartment, into which the water is discharged, the now will be dissipated and the free particles in the water will settle to the bottom of the tank. The upper portion of this tank 99 has a suitable screen basket installed therein which is adapted to contain a suitable filtering material such as sassafras root or charcoal lill. The upper portion of tank 99 has a cover |02 secured thereto, and this cover has a plug |03 threadably secured therein which is usedi'or supplying new filtering materials lill into the tank. The cap IM has also a pipe |05 threadably secured therein. This pipe is joined to another pipe lila by means of a union lill, said pipe ili having a hand valve ID3 therein. lihe upper end of pipe H36 leads back into main iii at the T member -i ID.' Therefore it is seen that the sedimentation in the treated water is allowed to settle in the lower portion of compartment e@ after which the water is directed upwardly through the lter tot and outwardly through pipes lod and lod, and then hack again into the main itl. When in the main .lil the water nows through hand valve ill to any suitable source of dispensation.

The lower side of the tank 9@ has a pipe iid leading therefrom, in which a. hand valve it is installed. When it is desired to wash the lter by reversing the now in the tant. et, it is necessary to close the hand valves ill and el and then open the hand valves W5 and E2. The water will then be allowed to now through the main i6 downwardly through pipe mit, pipe ME, filter material lill, chamber 9d and out through pipe lid and hand valve H5. This will not only clean the filter i6! but will also wash the sedimentation out of the bottom of tank sie.

In the drawings and specication there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and althoughspecic terms are ein pioyed, they are used in a generic and descrip tive sense only, and not for the purposes or limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. Water softening apparatus adapted to be attached to a water main, comprising a casing, a cake of water softening material molded in said casing, a second casing in which the first casing is adapted to snugly nt, the upper ends of both casings being open, a cap member closing the second casing, a Pitot tube communieating with said water main and with the interior of the second casing, a second pipe communioating also with the upper end of said second casing and with said water main, and a disk having projections on its lower face adapted to rest on said cake, and means for rotating said disk to remove sedimentation from the upper 2. Water softening apparatus ladapted to be attached to a water main. comprising a casing,

withsaid water main and with the interior of the second casing, a second pipe communicating also with the upper end of said second casing and with said water main, a disk having projections on its lowerface adapted to rest on said cakefmeans for rotating said disk to remove sedimentation from the upper surface of the cake, anda gauge slidably penetrating said cap member and ladapted to rest on `said disk member to indicate the'amount of the cake remaining in` the rst casing. v

3. Water softening apparatus comprising a container having sidewall and bottom portions and being open at the top, a second container conforming to the contour of the tlrst container and also being open at the top and being adapted to snugly iit into the first container, the second container having solidied water softening material molded therein, a cap closing the upper open end of the nrst container, means for by passing some of the water from a water main through the apparatus comprising a Pitot tube connected to the water main and penetrating said cap, and a pipe also penetrating said cap and having its other end connected. to the water main.

e. Water softening apparatus comprising a container having sidewall and bottom portions and being open at the top, a second container conforming to the contour oi the nrst container and also being open at the top and being adapted to snugly it into the first container, the second container having solidied water softening material moided therein, a cap closing the upper open end o the rst container, means for by passing lscuse of the water from a. water main through the apparatus comprising a Pitot tube connected tn the water main and penetrating said esp, c. pipe also penetrating said cap and having its other end; connected to the water main. and a now direction indicator disposed in said second pipe.

5. Water softening apparatus comprising e. cylindrical container having a closed bottom, a cap secured to the open top of the container, a second container lled with a solidied cake of water-softening composition and snugly ntting in the niet container and substantially filling the nrst container, the second container having an imperforate bottom and an open top, an intake pipe leading from a water main into the upper portion of the rst'container and a return pipe connected to the upper part of the rst container above the upper edge of the second container and to said water main, whereby the by passed water will wash the upper surface ci the cake of softening composition in the second container, the second container being easily rea movable from-the rst container .when said cap is removed. 

